{"id":246005,"date":"2025-09-14T22:07:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T02:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=246005"},"modified":"2025-09-14T22:07:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T02:07:05","slug":"the-detroit-lions-played-statement-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/14\/the-detroit-lions-played-statement-football\/","title":{"rendered":"The Detroit Lions Played Statement Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to statement football, Detroit Lions style. With a chip on their shoulder and something to prove, the Lions came out fast and furious, steamrolling over the Chicago Bears<\/a>\u00a0by a score of 52-21.<\/p>\r\n

The Detroit Lions Are Playing Statement Football\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/b><\/h2>\r\n

But the win over Chicago wasn\u2019t just a win. It was a defining statement-making return to the form we saw one year ago. The Detroit Lions are back, and if you were to ask them, they never left. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Throughout the long offseason, players had to contend with the doubters. Pundits predicted Detroit would falter this season after losing both coordinators. Attributing the team\u2019s recent offensive success to former OC Ben Johnson’s<\/a> play calling rather than the team\u2019s uber-talented roster, Bleacher Report<\/a> projected the Detroit Lions would finish with a dismal 9-8 record. Last week\u2019s shaky start sent the critics into hyperdrive as they gleefully forecasted a losing season.<\/p>\r\n

What everyone seemed to forget is that this was the same team that finished 15-2 and scored 53 touchdowns during the regular season. Detroit has an MVP-caliber quarterback with Jared Goff<\/a> running an offense that averaged more than 33 points per game. The pundits proclaiming Detroit would have a losing season also ignored the league\u2019s top running back duo, who accounted for almost 2,400 scrimmage yards with 24 touchdowns between them. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"\"
Sep 14, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) leaps into the crowd after a touchdown against the Chicago Bears during the fourth quarter of the game at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

The Lions Had Something To Prove\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

So it\u2019s no wonder that the Lions entered this game with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. Throughout the week, Dan Campbell<\/a> and John Morton<\/a> repeatedly answered questions and reassured the media that no one was panicking. It was one game. While mistakes were made, they were fixable<\/a>. Campbell admitted, \u201cI thought we would be cleaner than we were.\u201d \u00a0However, stressing the mistakes made were a learning experience, he vowed, \u201cLike I told the team, these are so correctable. Everything that showed up is so correctable, and we\u2019ll hit head-on.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lions Outstanding Offensive Onslaught<\/h3>\r\n

Instead, the team came out Sunday firing on all cylinders, loudly proclaiming that this team was not a team to dismiss or ignore.\u00a0 <\/span>Goff was exceptional, passing for 334 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Amon-Ra St. Brown<\/a> displayed the outstanding athleticism and uncanny chemistry he has with Goff, catching three touchdowns. Jahmyr Gibbs<\/a> and David Montgomery<\/a> demonstrated the one-two punch we\u2019ve come to expect from the league’s top RB duo.<\/p>\r\n

Gibbs had 12 carries for 94 yards with one touchdown to start the scoring onslaught, while Montgomery had 11 catches for 57 yards and a score. Jameson Williams<\/a> had a brilliant afternoon catching a 64-yard pass and later on a 44-yard touchdown. \u00a0Tight end Brock Wright scored a touchdown. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa <\/a>made another outstanding one-handed grab with only seconds remaining on the clock that set up another St. Brown touchdown to give the Lions a 28-14 lead at the half.\u00a0 None of this would have been possible if the offensive line problems that plagued the team a week ago had not been resolved. \u00a0Credit the coaching staff and the offensive line for figuring it out and correcting it, just as Campbell predicted. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lions’ Defense Stepping Up \u00a0<\/h3>\r\n

Not to be outdone by the rampaging offense, Kelvin Sheppard’s defense had an equally impressive return to form. Brian Branch<\/a> forced a fumble off running back D\u2019Andre Swift. Kerby Joseph<\/a> came up with a stunning interception. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Aidan Hutchinson<\/a> had Ford Field erupting in cheers when he flattened Bears quarterback Caleb Williams<\/a> for his first sack of the season.\u00a0 <\/span>Al-Quadin Muhammad and Marcus Davenport <\/a>also contributed sacks, adding to a very long afternoon for Williams. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Lions are now 1-1 in the very competitive, tough NFC North division. It is just one game. Detroit is still one full game behind the Green Bay Packers<\/a>\u00a0with almost the entire season ahead. It’s premature to get too excited. However, if last week’s loss in Green Bay<\/a> rattled more than a few nerves, those fans can sleep much better tonight knowing the team they embraced over the past few seasons is back and looking more than up to the challenge. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Main Image: Junfu Han \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a chip on their shoulder, the Lions made a strong, convincing statement steamrolling the Chicago Bears\u00a0by a score of 52-21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5208,"featured_media":246472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[8938,33638,4828,33365,33738,8968,451,33258],"class_list":["post-246005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lions","tag-aidan-hutchinson","tag-brock-wright","tag-david-montgomery","tag-isaac-teslaa","tag-jahmry-gibbs","tag-jameson-williams","tag-jared-goff","tag-john-morton"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5208"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246005"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246474,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246005\/revisions\/246474"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}